Bow for musical stringed instruments



Nov. 25, 1941. F. woERNER BOW FOR MUSICAL STRINGED INSTRUMENTS Filed Feb. 13. 1939 NWN INVENTOR. ila.; 21,2%

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOWV FOR MUSICAL STRINGED INSTRUMENTS 3 Claims.

The invention relates to bows for musical stringed instruments, such as the violin, cello and bass viol.

The artist requests as much from his bow as he does from his violin. Good bows are rare and very expensive.

The bow generally in use has been made of wood and to be of real service it must be carefully made of a good grade of material of proper weight and elasticity and be balanced to satisfy the feeling of the artist. Such bows cannot be uniform in all respects, since they are hand made, so that it is impossible for an artist to have at hand an exact duplicate in case the one he is using should break. A wooden bow usually breaks at the tip.

Bows formed of aluminum have been suggested. This material is a dead metal and tends to warp from use and due to bending of the bow in playing, the aluminum will crystallize and break sooner than many other metals. Such a bow, therefore, is not entirely satisfactory. Other metal bows have been proposed but none of them appear to be practicable.

The object of my invention is to provide an eilicient metal bow which will have a maximum of strength and durability and which may be formed with the weight, balance, exibility and tension found in the most costly wooden bow and avoid many of the objections to prior bows.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a bow embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tip.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the frog slightly modified.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the slidable bottom of the frog.

Fig. 5 is an end View of the said bottom.

Fig, 6 shows fragments in perspective of several congurations of the staff in cross-section, and

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the degree of taper of each of the steps of taper of the staff of the bow.

The staif of the bow, indicated at I, is a metal tube, preferably steel of suitable thinness. I use a straight tube and taper it in four successive stages or areas toward the tip. This stepped taper of the tube reduces the thickness of the 5 material of the tube from approximately .020 of an inch to .010 of an inch. The butt end is straight for a distance suicient to accommodate the adjusting screw 2 and it is shaped to accommodate the frog 3.

In the next stage or 55 area of about six inches, the tube is tapered approximately .010 of an inch. In the next or second stage or area of about six inches, the tube is tapered approximately .015 of an inch. In the next or third stage or area of about six inches, the taper is approximately .025 of an inch and in the last stage or area of about six inches, the taper is approximately .032 of an inch.

A tip 4, preferably formed of sheet metal ls rsecured to the forward end of the staff I, a

sleeve 5 being inserted at the joint to strengthen the tube at that joint. The bottom of the tip is partly closed by the section 6 which is also bent upwardly to form a wall 'I. A block 8 is contained in the space between the wall 1 and the rear wall of the tip and the hairs 9 are anchored between the block and the wall 1. The bottom section 6 may be integral with or secured to the front wall of the tip and the tip may be integral with the staif.

The hollow frog 3, preferably formed of sheet metal, is concaved or channelled on its upper side to receive the staff. A stud Ill extends through the top wall of the frog, and threads into a plate Il which is secured to the inner face of the top wall of the frog, as shown in Fig. 1. The stud also extends through a slot I2 in the lower side of the staff and prevents the stai from turning or sliding laterally on the frog. A threaded opening I3 in the stud receives the adjusting screw 2, which screw is supported in the bearing I5 iixed in the staff and a head I6 on the screw facilitates its rotation to slide the frog forwardly or backwardly to loosen or tighten the hairs.

In Fig. 3 the plate II is secured in the channelled top of the frog and the stud threads into it. The plate is in the slot I2 in the staff and hence prevents relative turning or lateral sliding of the staff and frog.

The bottom of the frog is open, an expanding U-shaped wall I1 being mounted on the bottom and opposite side walls of the frog to form a receptacle for the block I8 which anchors the hairs 9 between it and the rear wall of the receptacle. 'Ihe lower edges of the opposite side walls of the frog are turned inwardly to form two grooves I9 in which the plate 20 is slidable to close the bottom of the frog. The opening in the frog to receive the hair is the same as the corresponding opening in the tip. This affords a flat ribbon of hair along the entire length of the bow and is a great advantage.

In Fig. 6 various cross-sectional forms of the staff I are shown. In many respects the circular and the elliptical forms shown are preferable to the other forms.

It is apparent that the steel staff does not have a straight taper but its diameter varies in predetermined stages or areas, whereas the thickness of the metal decreases gradually towards the tip of the staff. The resultant staff is durable and iiexible and Will retain its shape and curve. Its Weight is the same as that of a. good Wooden bow-from 2 to 21/2 ounces. The staff may be chromium or gold plated or otherwise plated to make it attractive Without aiect-V ing its weight.

The preferred method of constructing the staiT is to place a seamless steel tube on a mandrel that is tapered in successive, contiguous areas or stages, the degree of each tapered area' being greater than that of the area behind it,

relatively to the smaller or tip end of the staff.

The tube is then rolled on the mandrel to cause it to conform to the several tapered areas. The tip may be -formed by spinning the metal and vthe frog may be stamped out of sheet metal. I `may form the frog and the tip or either of them out of a plastic material, such as the product known as Bakelite I claim:

1. A stringed musical instrument bow, comprising a metal tube tapered in at least four successive stages from one end to the other the last stage having a sharper degree of taper than any other, the wall thickness of the tube gradually decreasing throughout the successive tapered areas.

2; A musical instrument bow, comprising a metal tube having a butt end and a tip end, the tube being tapered in at least four consecutive contiguous areas from the butt end to the tip, the taper of each area being greater than that of the area next behind it and the Wall thickness of the tube being gradually reduced from the butt end to the tip;

3. A musical instrument bow, comprising a. tube having a straight section at one end forming the butt, the tube being tapered in at least four consecutive sections from the butt to the opposite end, the taper of each section being greaterr than that of the section next behind it and the Wall of the tube being gradually reduced in thickness from the butt to the opposite end.

FREDRICK WOERNER. 

